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Post by tyty on Mar 27, 2006 2:21:42 GMT -8
I'm sure this will get some reaction within the forum...
Provincial Conservative wants to build bridge between Vancouver and the Island
CRANBROOK (CKNW/AM980) -- Provincial Conservative Leader Wilf Hanni has announced that if his party forms government, they will hold a referendum on building a bridge from the Mainland to Vancouver Island.
That would include building a connector to the Trans Canada Highway.
Hanni says he was saddened by the recent sinking of a the B.C. Ferry Queen of the North and while a bridge would not have helped in that situation, due to the age of the fleet, he would spend money on a bridge between the Island and the Mainland instead of on new ferries.
Hanni notes Prince Edward Island has a bridge and it has only 138 thousand inhabitants versus the 750 thousand on Vancouver Island.
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Post by DENelson83 on Mar 27, 2006 2:25:36 GMT -8
Do we really have to go through this stuff again? - Wide strait
- Deep strait
- Soft strait floor
- Seismic zone
- High winds
- Nav channel
I could go on...
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Post by Curtis on Mar 27, 2006 8:13:28 GMT -8
I've got 2 words to say to this TOTALLY IMPOSSIBLE!
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Post by Quinsam on Mar 27, 2006 8:33:38 GMT -8
Yes, totally impossible, it might be possible to build it between the end of Hwy 101 and Campbell River, it would be easier to build a bridge there because the strait is narrow up there.
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Post by Political Incorrectness on Mar 27, 2006 10:50:35 GMT -8
I got two letters about this B.S.
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,177
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Post by Neil on Mar 27, 2006 12:02:57 GMT -8
Sorry, but the topic of a bridge to Vancouver Island is so old and tired that it really deserves to be put to rest forever. And, why bother quoting a politician who leads a party that really doesn't exist, except in name? The BC Consevative Party is not part of the federal one- they are about as influential as the Natural Law Party. Next topic.
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Post by Dane on Mar 27, 2006 12:38:55 GMT -8
Provincial Conservative leader.
That says it all.
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Post by Political Incorrectness on Mar 27, 2006 16:30:01 GMT -8
Let me guess
Provinicial Conservative Leader = NDP?
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Post by Alex on Mar 27, 2006 16:32:16 GMT -8
Think about the proposed bridge system they are looking at for the Malahat - from Cherry Point to Deep Cove. That project - if it ever gets off the ground will cost nothing less than $100M and take most likely 10 to 15 years to get sorted out and started, by then the cost would have doubled anyway. Where as $100M spend on the Mill Bay route - well it could be kept afloat for around 90 years based on there loses per year of around $1M - heck even Harry would not be around by then...... I would put that bridge in the $600-800 million range. I think thats what the Golden Ears bridge will cost, aswell as the new Port Mann Bridge. Any bridge to the island will probably cost AT LEAST $5 billion. Probably closer to $10 billion. Sure, PEI has a bridge, but the bridge is less than a quarter the length that a crossing between the mainland and the island would be. It would effectively be the largest project in the history of Canada, and most likely bankrupt the entire province. At least at this point and time. Maybe in the distant future...50 years or so, it would be feasible. But not now.
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Post by kylefossett on Mar 27, 2006 16:35:32 GMT -8
Let me guess Provinicial Conservative Leader = NDP? Actually when it comes to provincial politics the conservtives and ndp are NOT connected. A bridge will not happen in most of our lifetimes
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,177
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Post by Neil on Mar 27, 2006 17:27:03 GMT -8
The funniest part of tyty's post was where Wilf Hanni, whoever he is, says, "if his party forms government".... the day that happens, Queen of The North will pop to the surface and complete her run to Port Hardy. All by herself.
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Post by Scott on Mar 27, 2006 19:22:25 GMT -8
The funniest part of tyty's post was where Wilf Hanni, whoever he is, says, "if his party forms government".... the day that happens, Queen of The North will pop to the surface and complete her run to Port Hardy. All by herself. Yeah, maybe even the day they get a seat in the legislature! There are also a few other considerations I've thought of recently. With BC Ferries on the water all the time, it makes the coastal waters that much safer. If an accident happens out there, often it's the closest ferry that is one of the first responders. Take the ferries away, it'll be an unsafer coastline as far as marine accidents are concerned. And another point that someone else hinted at already.. bridges don't last forever either... even if there is no earthquake or major storm that would wreck it, it would need to be replaced in 75 years or less.
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Post by tyty on Mar 27, 2006 19:23:18 GMT -8
The funniest part of tyty's post was where Wilf Hanni, whoever he is, says, "if his party forms government".... the day that happens, Queen of The North will pop to the surface and complete her run to Port Hardy. All by herself. Couldn't have said it better myself. That really sums up the ridiculousness of the idea. Yes, I suppose anything CAN be built with the right amount of money. But remember that Confederation Bridge shuts down quite a bit when its windy or there's a lot of ice buildup in the water underneath. Not that ice is a problem here, but I could see such a bridge getting shut down a lot.
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Post by nolonger on Mar 27, 2006 19:27:47 GMT -8
The funniest part of tyty's post was where Wilf Hanni, whoever he is, says, "if his party forms government".... the day that happens, Queen of The North will pop to the surface and complete her run to Port Hardy. All by herself. Yeah, maybe even the day they get a seat in the legislature! There are also a few other considerations I've thought of recently. With BC Ferries on the water all the time, it makes the coastal waters that much safer. If an accident happens out there, often it's the closest ferry that is one of the first responders. Take the ferries away, it'll be an unsafer coastline as far as marine accidents are concerned. And another point that someone else hinted at already.. bridges don't last forever either... even if there is no earthquake or major storm that would wreck it, it would need to be replaced in 75 years or less. Well put.
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Doug
Voyager
Lurking within...the car deck.
Posts: 2,213
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Post by Doug on Mar 27, 2006 19:31:47 GMT -8
For one, I've never even heard of the Provincial Conservative Party.
For two, the Queen of the North is not directly related to Mainland-Vancouver Island services; it is an old ship that doesn't make profit to rebuild the vessel. While the crew was experienced with the route, the Mainland-Vancouver Island vessels are open-water crossings, not parallel with the coast in hazardous waters. And also remember that, while the crew of the North claims to be experienced (which they would surely be of the area), the vessels between the Mainland and the Island cross more than 10 times a day.
For three, while a bridge to the Island may be possible to an extent of many people working together, it is just not feasible. A bridge would cost between $6 and $12 billion (keep in mind that it is expected to cost around $2 billion to replace and refurbish all the vessels in the BC Ferry fleet, the largest ferry operation in the world; and that covers a lot more than Mainland-Vancouver Island service). A floating submerged tunnel (which would be the most feasible in my mind), would cost as much as three times as much.
Paying for the construction would be a crossing toll of between $120 and $800.
There are also environmental, seismic and economical concerns.
A four lane bridge would significantly increase the amount of pollution emitted from vehicles compared to ferries. The future can only get cleaner...in my mind it is not acceptable to get much worse than it already is.
We are on a very seismic coast, and when the "Big One" hits, any bridge would likely be completely demolished, unfortunately ending a huge construction project that would rank upon the biggest in the world.
Economical concerns include excessive population from the Fraser Valley moving to the Gulf Islands (which they wouldn't approve of) and to Vancouver Island. The threshold areas at each end would probably quickly grow, which Vancouver Island won't want. They may say they do, but I'd laugh when I see how fast they regret what they said if they were to build this bridge. BC Ferries and its private ancillery operations would lose a lot of service.
Not feasible. Enough said.
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,177
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Post by Neil on Mar 27, 2006 22:37:45 GMT -8
Thirty years ago, even a ferry fan like me thought that the 'Chunnel' was the most sensible idea imaginable. Tremendous volume of vehicular, rail, and passenger traffic around the clock, far greater than would ever be generated across Georgia Strait, replacing a very expensive ferry system- how could it possibly lose? Now the company that operates the Chunnel is drowning under incredible debt, and ferries still ply the English Channel, with no sign that they'll ever be obsolete. Amazing how, sometimes, high tech is low logic.
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Post by Dane on Mar 28, 2006 16:52:58 GMT -8
and of course this forum now adds the fuel to his very small fire.... How many ppl on this board are even legal voting age
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Post by Mike C on Mar 28, 2006 18:43:36 GMT -8
My English teacher tells me that there's a proposal to build a bridge from Tsawwassen to Victoria!!?? That's just plain B.S. I mean god, why the h*ll would you build a bridge over Mayne, Pender, Prevost, and potentially Saltspring, only to elimenate the BC Ferries flagships, and one of two of their money-making routes? That's called killing two birds with one stone. And it will ruin the beauty of our Gulf Islands. And besides, if a bridge to VI goes through, most of the islanders will absolutley hate it.
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Post by Quinsam on Mar 28, 2006 18:50:59 GMT -8
A bridge could be built between the end of Highway 101 and Campbell river, there is less water to cross there, and it could replace the Queen of Burnaby's route, to replace a money losing route. Then the Queen of Burnaby can assist in Southern Gulf Islands service from Tsawwassen.
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Post by Scott on Mar 28, 2006 19:18:37 GMT -8
A bridge could be built between the end of Highway 101 and Campbell river, there is less water to cross there, and it could replace the Queen of Burnaby's route, to replace a money losing route. Then the Queen of Burnaby can assist in Southern Gulf Islands service from Tsawwassen. It could be built there but no one would use it. And in response to someone's comment about their English teacher.. from my experience, most English teachers have their heads in Shakespere and not much else;)
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Post by tyty on Mar 28, 2006 19:23:59 GMT -8
A bridge could be built between the end of Highway 101 and Campbell river, there is less water to cross there, and it could replace the Queen of Burnaby's route, to replace a money losing route. Some good that is, though if you want to go from Northern Vancouver Island to the Lower Mainland. There's still two ferries to get off the Sunshine Coast!!
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Post by ed on Mar 28, 2006 20:11:12 GMT -8
A bridge could be built between the end of Highway 101 and Campbell river, there is less water to cross there, and it could replace the Queen of Burnaby's route, to replace a money losing route. Some good that is, though if you want to go from Northern Vancouver Island to the Lower Mainland. There's still two ferries to get off the Sunshine Coast!! Wait a minute, after twenty years of talkling about it they still haven't started to build a bridge across the Fraser to replace the Albion ferry let alone crossing the Straight of G.
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Post by Quinsam on Mar 28, 2006 20:21:51 GMT -8
The bridge you are talking about (ed) is going to be completed in 2009, then the Kulleet and Klatawa might join the BCF fleet with their 3 sister ships. (Klitsa, Kahloke, Kwuna) And the John Atlantic Burr is a cousin to the K class.
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,177
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Post by Neil on Mar 28, 2006 21:46:23 GMT -8
You might think Quinsam Teen's notion of a northern strait bridge is a bit far fetched, but the original idea for a connection to the Island, back in the 1800s, was for a crossing of the Desolation Sound area, over Quadra, to the Campbell River area. No nuttier than any other idea, I suppose.
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Post by DENelson83 on Mar 28, 2006 21:48:35 GMT -8
You know, why don't we just start phasing in amphibious vehicles for everyone, so that if you live in Vancouver and want to go to Victoria, you can just drive across the Strait without need for a ferry? (kidding)
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